No permanent solution to Guwahati’s waterlogging: Mayor

GUWAHATI: With the advent of the monsoon, when many areas of the city are facing waterlogging problems after evry fresh spell of rain, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) mayor Mrigen Sarania on Thursday said there is no permanent solution to this perennial problem of waterlogging in the city.
“Due to the geographical condition of the city, it is not possible to have a permanent solution to the waterlogging problem.Whenever a heavy spell of rain lashes on the city, stormwater is bound to remain clogged in the low-lying areas. The city is surrounded by around 18 hills and the stormwater along with decayed soil from the hilly areas flows down, inundating the areas in the plains,” the mayor said adding that for a permanent solution to the problem, the entire drainage system of the city has to be rebuilt.
The mayor, however, said the situation has improved this year compared to the previous years, owing to the measures taken by the corporation before monsoon arrived. “In the past, water-logged areas used to remain inundated for two to three days, however, this time the stormwater receded within a couple of hours. Several areas of the city that used to face waterlogging problem before, are not facing the problem this time. The situation will further improve once the desiltation of the drains is complete,” Sarania added.
The mayor said to minimise the waterlogging problem, the corporation had started desilting and dredging the drains of the city to enhance the flow of stormwater through them. “Every year from March to October, the corporation conducts desiltation of the drains to mitigate the urban flooding problem. This year as well around 291 drains and five major river channels of Guwahati-Bharalu, Mora Bharalu, Basistha, Bahini and Lakhimijan have been carried out at an expense of around Rs 29 crores. To date, around 60-65% of the work has already been completed,” he added.